


All I Want by Madison

by sgamadison



Series: The Cabin Series [9]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-10
Updated: 2011-12-10
Packaged: 2017-10-27 04:11:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/291490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sgamadison/pseuds/sgamadison
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He wanted to make the day memorable...</p>
            </blockquote>





	All I Want by Madison

**Author's Note:**

  * For [the_cephalopod](https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_cephalopod/gifts).



  
All I Want by [Madison](viewuser.php?uid=1593)  


  


  


  
Summary: He wanted to make the day memorable...  
Categories: Slash Pairings > McKay/Sheppard Characters:  Elizabeth Weir, Jennifer Keller, John Sheppard, Rodney McKay, Ronon Dex, Teyla Emmagan  
Genres:  Established Relationship, Romance  
Warnings:  Adult themes  
Challenges: None  
Series: The Cabin Series  
Chapters:  1 Completed: Yes  
Word count: 6678 Read: 2163  
Published: 12 Nov 2010 Updated: 12 Nov 2010 

  


  


  


  
Story Notes:  


  


written for the_cephalopod's b-day. beta's by mischief5. All mistakes mine for tweaking after the fact.

  


  
"I knew this was a terrible idea," Rodney grumbled, trying to hide the real concern in his voice behind the griping.  
   
"Funny how we're just hearing about that now." John's drawl held a sharper-than-usual bite to it as he, too, knew what they were up against.  
   
"I told you earlier that this was going to be a problem!" Rodney insisted, throwing the burnt out crystal into his toolkit in frustration and rooting around to see what other options he had.  
   
"No," John said, and Rodney could not help wincing at the gritted tone.  "You said it would be a big fat pain in the ass and that you didn't see the need to tromp around in the snow for mere _decorations_ and that you had more pressing demands on your time and yet when Ronon, Teyla, and I decided to do this, you wanted to come along as well."  
   
John had a scary knack for doing imitations when it suited him.  Which always caught Rodney off guard because John was so aggressively _John_ most of the time, it was freaky seeing him be someone else.  Even if that someone else was Rodney.  Maybe even especially when John channeled him.  
   
"Okay, I concede to your point," Rodney said as he pulled out a headlamp and put it on, rolling down to place one shoulder on the hard, snow-dusted ground and adjusting the light so that he could look up into the guts of the jumper.  "I didn't specifically name the exact crisis that would pop up and smack us in the face, but I knew something would.  Something always does."  
   
"You could have stayed home," John said shortly.  
   
"Who would fix the jumper then, huh?  Oh, ye of the MacGyver School of Repairs?  Your idea of a suitable patch on a system usually consists of chewing gum and twisty ties."  
   
A reluctant smile pulled at the corner of John's mouth but the wind shortly whipped it away.  He squinted against it and looked up into the sky, hunching down a bit in his parka against the cold.  
   
Rodney looked up at the sky as well.  Ever since their arrival on PT7-314, the sunless sky had been dull pewter in color, thick and heavy with the promise of more snow to come.  Except for when the wind blew, cutting through the layers of winter clothing with frightening ease, the air had that kind of muffled quality to it that Rodney knew meant that a heavy storm was on its way.  You didn't spend as much time as he had in frozen wastelands without being able to sense changes in the weather.  
   
"You gonna be able to fix it?"  Ronon's voice sounded unnaturally loud, making Rodney jump a little.  He had come down the ramp of the jumper behind them; Rodney hadn't even heard him approach.  He was wearing his thick leather coat, its long panels swaying around his legs with his movement, and he looked indifferent to the weather.  
   
Rodney got stiffly to his feet, the cold of the ground having seeped through to his shoulder.  He rotated it gingerly and reached up to shut off the headlamp.  "I don't know," he said reluctantly.  "There's more than one system involved here and I have only so many replacement parts with us."  
   
Ronon nodded, as though he'd expected this answer.  "Teyla's inside feeding Torren.  I'm going to go find us some dinner."  
   
"What?" Rodney squawked before John could either approve or disapprove of Ronon's plan.  "For pity's sake, Ronon.  We have MREs here.  We're not going to starve to death.  There's no need for you to run off and slaughter some poor hapless creature just to prove that you've still got what it takes to survive in the wild."  
   
Ronon merely raised an eyebrow.  "Weather's coming in," he said shortly.  "And we have food now, but who knows how long we'll be stuck here?  Once the snow sets in, nothing will be moving until it's over."  
   
"You want...?" John began, pointing at himself and then flicking his finger negligently back at Ronon.  
   
Ronon grinned.  "Nah.  I actually want to _catch_ some dinner.  You should stay here."  
   
He turned and headed off into the woods, melting into the gray and brown background almost within seconds.  
   
As Rodney watched, he heard the small, slight sound of sleet hitting the dead foliage around them.  
   
The storm was starting.  
   
They were in some serious shit here.  Rodney glanced at John, who looked tired and cold.  Even his hair seemed less perky than usual.  Tiny ice crystals were beading among the damp spikes of John's hair and along the furred collar of his black parka.  
   
Rodney looked quickly away from the expression of ' _yeah, we're fucked_ ' in John's eyes, determined to somehow make this better.  
   
He stared at the open hatch on the jumper as though it was a Pensieve and all the answers he needed could be found there.  
   
They could use a little Rowlings-style magic right now, he thought morosely.  ' _Accio ZPM_ '.  Yep.  Just as he thought.  Nothing.  
   
He made a face at the thought as he rubbed his hands against the cold, patted down his pockets, and failing to find any gloves, tucked his fingers in his armpits.  When they had come through the gate to PT7-314 earlier in the day, something in the planet-side gate exploded, causing a chain reaction to the jumper's DHD.  To make matters worse, the subsequent shockwave seemed to have ripped through several systems on the jumper, forcing John to make an emergency landing on the planet's surface.  
   
Now they had no power.  No gate control.  No way to leave the planet.  They did have radio contact and had been in touch with _Fortune_.  Although the Ancient ship was on its way, there was still no way for anyone on board to get supplies or personnel to them...or vice versa.  Rodney had some replacement crystals and wiring with him -- he'd learned by now to bring some extra stuff along -- but the damage this time was extensive.   
   
If the planet proved ultimately inhospitable, or someone like the Wraith attacked, well, they'd be screwed.  
   
He felt something slap him on the shoulder, the cold nylon of his parka making a crackling sound with the contact.  He turned to see John holding out a pair of gloves.  "Try not to lose this pair, McKay," he said.  
   
Rodney gratefully accepted the gloves and slid them on.  John stuffed one hand into his pocket and let the other rest casually on the gun holstered against his thigh.  Yes, it had only been a 'mission' to collect greenery to decorate the ship, but they never took any planet-side activity lightly.  
   
"So what now?" John asked, startling Rodney out of his reverie.  
   
Rodney flattened his lips in a thin line, pulling his neck down into his parka like a turtle into its shell.  "I'm going to go back inside and see if I can cobble together something that will get us either some power or the ability to dial the gate.  Preferably both, but don't hold your breath."  
   
"Rodney," John said, and for the first time since the emergency landing, he sounded like John and not the Colonel.  
   
"I know," Rodney said, blinking furiously at the snow that had begun to fall in large, feathery flakes.  "It's our only jumper.  It's our only way off the planet.  I need to be able to fix this, for all our sakes."  
   
"You'll come up with something."  John's confidence was reassuring but Rodney felt the little gnaw of pressure to come up with a viable solution just the same.  
   
They stood in silence, looking out at the small field where John had managed to land the jumper, not too far from the Gate.  The ground was already turning white.  The snow, so recently begun, was tumbling down in a chaotic array, flakes spinning and twisting in the air to land like petals in the grass.  The way the wind was picking up, though, Rodney suspected it would soon change over to the kind of snow that stung exposed skin when it drove down in a fine, granular spray.  Already the mountain range at the edge of the forest had whited out, the peaks blending in with the dull, leaden sky.  
   
"So," John prompted after a bit.  "You going in?"  
   
Rodney tightened the drawstring around his hood until just his eyes, nose, and chin were exposed.  "Is Teyla, um, you know?"  He made a vague gesture in the vicinity of his chest.  
   
John snorted which then sharply turned into a cough.  When he'd finished, he used the back of his hand to rub his nose.  His fingers looked red and raw with the cold and Rodney wondered why John wasn't wearing any gloves.  "It's a perfectly normal biological function, McKay.  There's nothing to be ashamed about breast-feeding."  
   
"I'm not ashamed!" Rodney began hotly, careful to pitch his statement low enough so that Teyla wouldn't overhear.  "I just...well, we weren't that kind of family.  We didn't discuss such things and I'm just not used to seeing someone casually open their blouse and just bam!  Hello!  Everything is right there." Rodney briefly cupped his hands in front of him as though he were holding melons.  "I'm just...embarrassed, okay?"  
   
John grinned at him, all at once looking years younger, and Rodney recalled in a flash how fun the incoming trip had been, just them, the Team (well, okay, Torren too, but really, he was an honorary team member when it came down to it).  They'd been relaxed and laughing as they'd headed for the planet that _Fortune_ had suggested might be a good source of evergreens.  He'd been relieved when Jennifer had opted not to come; she wasn't exactly an outdoorsy person.  Rodney wondered briefly when he'd become such a person himself.  
   
It was supposed to be a little fun, damn it.  Now, once again, they were struggling to get themselves out of a big mess with everyone in one piece.  
   
Anxious to get a move on before they lost all the available light, Rodney felt compelled to prod.  
   
"So?  Can you check and see...?"  
   
John twisted his mouth and made a face.  He rocked back on his heels a moment and glanced down at his watch.  "I think we can give her a few minutes longer," he said.  
   
Rodney just snorted.  
   
****  
   
"Food's ready," Ronon said.   
   
John thought about how many times in how many places Ronon had said those very same words and he wondered when it was that Ronon had become the de facto Team cook.  He thought about that for a minute and remembered that, well, Teyla couldn't cook and Rodney would eat whatever was placed in front of him (with varying degrees of complaint).  Ronon, on the other hand, kept little packets of spices in his pockets and usually had an onion-like bulb or some tormack as well.  
   
The roasting meat smelled mouth-watering good.  John knew it would be delicious and his stomach growled a little as he went to roust up Rodney from inside the jumper to join them.  
   
"Not right now," Rodney snapped without looking up when John told him that dinner was ready.  He sat cross-legged on the floor of the jumper, his hands buried in a pile of cables, crystals scattered all around him like children's toys.  
   
"You'll think better after some food," John said, leaning in the open hatchway.  
   
Rodney's glance flicked up momentarily before he went back to studying his tangle of wires.  John could tell from the pad Rodney held that he was testing out some circuit bypasses before trying them on the main system.  
   
Rodney held up a partially eaten power bar, waggling it at John while he concentrated on his datapad.  
   
"Real food, Rodney," John said.  "Warm food."  
   
Rodney set down the power bar, still in its foil wrapper, on the floor within easy reach beside him.  "If I could just fix the DHD, we could be home, eating our nice warm meal with all our friends like we'd planned."  
   
Even though Rodney sounded incredibly grumpy, John knew that it was only because he was feeling the fix-the-jumper-or-else pressure.  Something inside him warmed a little at the idea that Rodney thought of _Fortune_ as home and everyone onboard as friends.  It was the only thing about him that was warm.  He shivered a little and decided it was time to up the ante.  
   
"It's jackalope," he said in a sing-song tone.  
   
Rodney looked up with a snort.  "There's no such thing as a jackalope."  
   
The remnants of his stress and unhappiness with the situation were still there, but John could see by the flash of his blue eyes that he was willing to be temporarily diverted.  
   
John would never admit it to anyone, but he loved the way Rodney could rapidly shift in mood.  Rodney was as mercurial and ever-changing as the sea and sky, and John never tired of watching him.  
   
"Looks like a jackalope to me," John drawled.  He gave a little shrug.  "Just sayin'."  
   
"Fine.  This I have to see for myself."  Rodney uncrossed his legs, reaching up for John to give him a hand getting to his feet.  John uncoiled himself from holding up the side of the jumper and stepped forward to pull Rodney up with a mock groan.  
   
"Big Damn Hero."  Rodney smacked John on the arm as they stood in the hatchway together.  
   
"PITA Geek."  John replied without heat.  
   
"PITA _Genius_ Geek to you."  Rodney's retort was both childish and swift, as usual.  
   
John was preparing for another volley when he saw Rodney's mouth drop open in surprise.  "Is that...?  No, it can't be..."  
   
John followed Rodney's gaze to where Ronon was crouched by a campfire, slowly rotating a skinned, rabbit-like creature on a homemade spit.  On its head was an impressive set of miniature antlers.  
   
"Told you," John grinned.  
   
****  
   
Ronon had outdone himself this time.  He had apparently raided the ship's stores and filled his pockets with tormack, intending to roast the purple tubers as part of his lunch today.  He'd wrapped them in wet leaves and buried them in the embers to cook while he cleaned and prepped the jackalope.  Now everything was ready at the same time and John couldn't remember looking forward to a meal so much—not even all the elegantly prepared meals he'd eaten in his father's home, nor sitting down in the mess after a hard day's training.  He supposed it was the cold that made him so hungry.  He felt as though he could have eaten the jackalope raw.  
   
Rodney whipped out his pocket digital camera and took a few pictures of the jackalope on the spit, its skin a crisp, dark brown.  Juices from its body sizzled and spit as they dripped on the flames below.  The snow had let up for a bit; the feathery flakes swirled and tumbled lazily around them.   
   
"Seriously, McKay?  Pictures?"  
   
Rodney shrugged at John.  "Zelenka will never believe me."   He hitched up his pants and sat down on a half-rotten log of wood near the fire, regretting it immediately when he felt the moisture seeping through the seat of his pants.  He caught Teyla's amused gaze and knew that she knew what had just happened.   
   
She was bringing some more firewood closer to the fire and had Torren balanced on one hip, smiling and holding a secret conversation with him as she worked.  Rodney immediately felt guilty and started to his feet in order to help.  
   
"Sit."  She waved him back down.  "You've been working for hours without a break.  Let go of the problem for a while.  You will come back to the task more clearly for the rest."  
   
"Why is it that the assumption seems to be that I'm not thinking clearly right now?" Rodney was instantly grumpy again.  "You know, sometimes, there simply is no solution."  
   
"I have confidence in you, Rodney."  She dropped her armload of dry wood and smiled at Torren.  "Yes, we do, we have confidence in Rodney."  She jiggled Torren on her hip and he burbled a laugh, stuffing his fist into his mouth with glee.  She stepped over another old piece of deadwood and laid the jackalope skin on it before sitting down on top of it.  
   
"I'm glad someone does," Rodney said darkly, to no one in particular.      
   
John leaned over to hand Rodney a steaming mug of coffee, coming so close his lips almost brushed Rodney's ear as he spoke.  "Any bets on the jackalope having fleas?"  
   
Rodney almost spit his coffee out.  
   
"I heard that."  Teyla spoke as though she had and both John and Rodney shared a breathless glance before disintegrating into snickers.  John took his place beside Rodney, preferring to sit directly on the ground.  Rodney noticed that he sat on the bottom edge of his parka.  _Better to keep that bony ass warm_ , he thought.  
   
Ronon fished the tormack out of the hot embers, doling out a tuber to each of them on one of the metal military plates.  He stood the jackalope on the end of its spit and began to saw off chunks of meat onto everyone's plate as they held them out in turn.  Silence descended as they all began to eat.  
   
Rodney sat balancing his plate in his hands, picking up the chunks of jackalope and savoring the contrast between the succulent meat and the crispy skin.  The tormack was more difficult to manage; he broke down and used the spork to flake it apart.  
   
"I wish..." he began, only to be interrupted by Ronon.  
   
"Shut up."  Ronon was abrupt, as usual.  "There is no butter."  
   
Rodney sighed.  
   
It didn't take them long to finish the food.  Ronon lingered over it the longest, sucking all the meat off the leg bone in his hand before cracking it and eating the marrow as well.  Ronon's capacity for eating whatever was in front of him that wasn't nailed down never failed to impress Rodney and he often marveled how it was that Ronon hadn't succumbed to food poisoning at some point during his career as a Runner.  He wiped greasy fingers against his pants leg and grinned at Rodney, as though reading his mind.  
   
"That was excellent, Ronon," Teyla, as always, remembered to show her appreciation of Ronon's contribution to the day.  "Thank you."  
   
John and Rodney muttered their belated thanks as well.  Rodney found he was loathe to go back to work, feeling replete with food and wanting to sit a bit longer in front of the fire.  The snow had stopped briefly and the wind had died down.  In comparison, it seemed warmer.  The crackling fire was mesmerizing; Rodney had taken off his gloves to eat and now held out his hands over the fire's glow.  
   
"I am not sure I understand your celebration of this holiday known as Christmas," Teyla spoke as she tucked Torren in his blanket and placed him well inside her parka.  Rodney caught sight of a prodigious yawn before Torren made a nuzzling motion and ducked his head out of the cold wind.  He was getting big; Rodney wondered when that had happened.  "It seems to have so many variations among your people."  
   
"Christmas," John began, "is a time when families get together, eat a lot of food, and trade gifts.  It's a big deal for some people; they make a special point of coming home for the holidays, no matter how great the distance."  
   
Rodney took careful note of John's qualifier ' _some people_ ' there.  
   
"Christmas," Rodney added, when it was clear that John did not intend to expand his explanation, "is a religious and commercial holiday.  Historically on our planet, people held a mid-winter feast to mark the longest night of the year, which is the turning point for the return to spring.  Because certain pagan rituals had been celebrated for centuries, during the rise of Christianity as a religion and a political power, it was decided to celebrate the birth of Christ, hence Christmas, during the same time period as the winter solstice and Saturnalia, thus incorporating and absorbing those rituals rather than piss off hordes of people who intended to celebrate them anyway."  
   
"Rodney," John said, in that ' _be nice_ ' tone of his.  
   
"What?  It's true.  It was an incredibly politically savvy move on the part of the people who made such decisions.  Come on, seriously, when is lambing season in the Holy Land?  End of December?  I think not."  
   
"I am _not_ getting into a religious debate with you," John said, looking as though he couldn't decide whether to laugh or frown.  
   
"Ah."  Teyla nodded, pulling up the hood of her parka to shield her from the rising wind.  "We celebrate that as well.  We call it the Day of Enlightenment.  Our people fast and meditate for twenty-four hours before the celebration in order to cleanse our minds and bodies and prepare the coming festival."  
   
"Sounds fun."  Rodney traded a look with John.  His mouth quirked in a fleeting glimpse of his half-smile, acknowledging Rodney's hidden eye roll.  
   
"It is." Teyla smiled.  "Each year a few people are chosen to stand guard while the rest of us partake of the Enlightenment ritual.  A lot of Athosian children are born later that summer."  Her smile was sly and enigmatic.  
   
John coughed suddenly and turned to Ronon.  "What about you, Big Guy?"  
   
A soft smile played about Ronon's face briefly.  "We, too, held a mid-winter celebration.  The Carnival of Ice and Lights.  We'd spend weeks creating a small city out of blocks of ice.  The week of the festival, we'd light the ice city with tiny white and blue lights.  It was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."  Ronon's face reflected the beauty of his memories.  After a moment, he went on.  "Each night a different food would be the centerpiece of the feast.  Each food had symbolic meaning.  My favorite was tormack night."  He shared an appreciative grin with Rodney.  
   
"On the last night of the Carnival, everyone exchanged gifts with their Chosen One.  Before the Carnival is over, everyone draws names for their Chosen One for the upcoming year."  
   
"Secret Santa!" Rodney exclaimed, suddenly turning to poke John.  "I told you we should have done that this year."  
   
John punched him in the arm, causing Rodney to mouth a silent ' _ow_!' at him.  
   
Ronon went on as though Rodney hadn't spoken.  "We had a whole year to find or make the perfect gift for our Chosen One.  The better you knew and loved the person, the more perfect your gift could be."  Ronon fell silent, lost in his memories.  
   
"So, ah, Ronon."  Rodney floundered in the silence that followed.  "What have you planned to get for Jennifer this year?"  
   
Ronon's face darkened and, over his shoulder, Rodney could see Teyla wincing and warning Rodney off.  _Oops_.   
   
"I don't know," Ronon said shortly.  
   
"Um, everything okay there, buddy?"  John asked when the silence was punctuated only with the tinkling sound of ice crystals pelting the grass again.  
   
"Jennifer wishes she'd never come with us.  She hates living on the ship."  
   
Rodney's mind immediately began whirring with ways to keep Jennifer happy.  After all, he _had_ dated her for a while before he realized that John was the only person he wanted.  Surely, between him and _Fortune_ , they could come up with some sort of holodeck program to keep Jennifer happy until they finally set up home somewhere in Pegasus.  When they finally located the sister city to Atlantis: Argatha.  Because keeping Jennifer happy would make Ronon happy and, well, Ronon deserved to be happy.  
   
"And you, Rodney?  How did your family celebrate the holidays?"  Teyla was obviously changing the subject, for which Rodney was imminently grateful.  
   
Rodney snorted.  "Badly.  My family is not the celebrating sort.  Unless you've won the Nobel, they can't be bothered to muster up any sort of acknowledgment or congratulations.  You were lucky if you got a card on your birthday and Christmas shopping invariably took place at six pm on Christmas Eve at the local drugstore because it was the only place that was still open.  We tended to give a lot of bottles of cheap perfume and hair dryers as Christmas gifts in my family.  Well, you know, work comes before anything else."  Rodney rolled his eyes.   He said nothing about the fact that it had fallen to him to wrap all the presents or else it wouldn't have happened.  He'd ended up buying most of Jeannie's presents as well.  He still vividly recalled the year he'd purchased hiking boots for himself as a gift from his parents, and then wrapped each boot individually before placing it under the tree, making a big show the next morning about having no idea what was in the package...he shook off the thought.   
   
Everyone turned to look expectantly at John.  He sat hunched down in his parka, with his still bare hands wedged under each arm.  Rodney was tempted to give John his gloves, only he knew he'd need them to work once he decided to go back to work again.  
   
"What?"  John said, obviously feigning ignorance.  
   
"Your family.  What did you do to celebrate the holidays?"  Rodney wasn't cutting John any slack on this one.  It still rankled with him that John had never mentioned his family background of wealth and power.  Rodney still would know nothing about it, had Ronon not gone home with him for the funeral of John's father.  
   
John glanced up with a brief glare at the sky, blinking a bit at the gritty snow.  "We got cards on the tree with checks in them.  That's why having a tree is so important to me.  Can we shift this party inside now?"  When he met Rodney's eye, his gaze was cold and defiant, daring Rodney to comment.  
   
Rodney sighed instead.  "I was hoping to have all us home in time to celebrate this evening as planned."  
   
John gave a little half shrug.  "We're in space, McKay.  We chose an arbitrary day to celebrate in the first place because we have no solstice, or winter either, for that matter.  Today, tomorrow, next week.  What difference does it make?"  
   
"It matters."  Rodney thought about the party they'd planned for that evening, using the hologram recreation of Rodney and John's cabin back on Earth, the whole crew present and sharing in the food and warmth, Puffin chasing bits of wrapping paper around the base of the tree...  
   
"What's wrong with this?"  John indicated the world around them.  Rodney looked in askance at the dying fire, hissing with the falling snow.  He glanced up at the ominous, gray sky and the remnants of their meal.  It occurred to him that this might already be an outstanding Christmas as far as a Sheppard Holiday Celebration went, and he was filled with a fierce desire to make all of John's holidays as memorable and enjoyable as possible from here on out.   
   
"It's getting cold."  Ronon stood and kicked out the fire.  
   
"Yes, yes, I need to get back to work anyway."  Rodney got to his feet as well, offering Teyla a hand as she held on to Torren.  They bundled into the jumper.  When Ronon came in behind them, John raised the ramp to the rear entrance.  
   
"It will be dark soon."  Ronon downplayed his statement, but it ratcheted up Rodney's nerves as though it were a censure of his failure to fix the DHD.  
   
"I'm doing the best I can," Rodney snapped, kneeling to sort through the mess of wires again.  
   
Teyla laid a sleeping Torren down on one of the benches, giving a little sigh as she did so and stretching out her back.  She covered him with another blanket.   "We know that, Rodney," she said quietly, when it was clear that Torren would not awaken.  
   
"Jumper One, this is _Fortune_."  Elizabeth's voice came over the radio suddenly and everyone except Ronon jumped a little.  It struck Rodney as ridiculous that Elizabeth felt the need to designate the jumper in this fashion when it was the only jumper they had.  If they'd had more than one jumper, they wouldn't be in this mess right now.  
   
" _Fortune_ , this is Colonel Sheppard."   
   
Rodney glanced up from his work.  He'd been hearing John say those words (or words near enough) for years now and it filled him with a strange sense of familiarity and regret.  He realized the regret was for the loss of Atlantis; otherwise, he regretted nothing, not even being stuck on this ice ball of a planet with no way off, not as long as John was with him.  
   
"John."  Elizabeth's voice plainly held relief.  "It's good to hear you.  I believe _Fortune_ has some good news."  
   
"We could use some."  John exchanged a look with Rodney, who'd come up to the co-pilot's seat to hear what Elizabeth had to say.   
   
"Ship's readings indicate there's a power source approximately 600 km from your current position.  I'm sending you the coordinates now."  
   
Rodney leaned over John's shoulder as the data streamed in; he was practically breathing down John's neck.  The delicious scent of John's skin when he pushed back the hood of the parka distracted him for a moment; Rodney caught himself noting that the hairline on the back of his neck was crooked and he made plans to have a word with the woman who was cutting John's hair.  
   
John's voice brought him back to the problem at hand.  "That's a pretty big power source."  
   
"Yes, yes, I'm picking it up now."  Rodney pulled at his lower lip with thumb and forefinger as he compared Elizabeth's data and the information revealed to him by the onboard computer now.   
   
"Whatever it is, it didn't reveal itself before _Fortune_ arrived."  Rodney said.  
   
"Ancient?"  John shot him a glance.  
   
"Possibly," Rodney conceded.  He fell silent, contemplating the possibilities.  Finding a hidden Ancient power source wasn't always a good thing, as they had learned over the years.  
   
"I know you said we didn't have enough power to break atmosphere or power up the DHD," John said, turning in his seat to look squarely at Rodney.  "But what about a little jaunt across the planet?"  
   
John looked boyish and happy; any excuse for a little side excursion, Rodney realized.  He rapidly did calculations in his head while at the same time wondered how he could make this the best celebration ever for John.  It wasn't as though he could get John a really cool present at this late date.  He'd already pulled out his best rabbit hat trick by designing the cabin hologram for John's birthday.  If he had the time, he'd make a surfing hologram.  Yeah, a beach theme.  That would make John happy, as well as create a backlog of people willing to do favors for Rodney in order to get beach 'time shares.'  He hummed happily to himself.  
   
"Well?"  John's frown made Rodney realize he hadn't answered John's question.  
   
"Yes." Rodney rapidly reviewed his calculations.  "Yes, I'm pretty sure I can reroute enough systems to get us to whatever this power source might be."  He only hoped that whatever is was, it would be the answer to their energy problems.  
   
"Cool," John said, with a faint grin.  
   
Rodney wanted to see him give his genuine smile, the one that made him look like a dork, but that would have to wait.  
   
****  
   
Rodney clutched his prize to his chest as they headed back towards the Gate with new power crystals as well.  
   
"If you pet it and call it my Precious, I will feel compelled to take it away from you," John teased.  
   
"A ZPM," Rodney breathed.  "Mostly charged.  Do you know what I can do with this? I might even be able to get the gate on _Fortune_ working.  When you think about all the times we've come this close..."  Rodney hugged the ZPM to his chest tightly.  "Something always happens to it, you know that."  
   
"Not this time." John completely understood Rodney's paranoia; he felt a touch of it himself but he was determined to show nothing but confidence.  It wasn't that hard to do.  With the power crystals, Rodney had been able to repair enough systems to get them to break through the atmosphere; _Fortune_ lay ahead of them now, the docking bay ready to receive Jumper One.  
   
"It is good to be home again."  Teyla's sentiment made John realize that Fortune really was their home now.  
   
"So, we went out for a tree and came back with a ZPM," Ronon said from his usual seat behind John.  "Seems like a fair deal."  
   
"I'm not complaining," John said, but Rodney glanced at him as though he thought he could hear the disappointment just the same.  John could practically see the gears whirr and spin in Rodney's brain and wondered what Rodney was planning next.  
   
   
****  
   
He was late getting back to their quarters.  With the best of intentions, he'd meant to return earlier to shower and shave for the party, but there was no way he could just turn over the ZPM to Radek without confirming the power levels himself, and then the tinkering with the holodeck program had taken longer than he'd thought.  
   
He ran into John as he was coming out of the shower.  John had showered in his absence but hadn't shaved, choosing to wear a black turtleneck over jeans that seemed to have a leathery sheen to them for the party this evening.  The sight of him made Rodney's cock stir and lift under his towel.  Maybe they could be late to the party.  
   
Rodney remembered all the last minute work he'd put into changing the programming on his return—if _Fortune_ herself hadn't helped, he doubted he would have been able to make all the changes in time.  Now, however, the cabin was decorated with greenery, scented candles, and tiny white lights.  Rodney couldn't let his surprise go to waste.  
   
"Hey."  John came over to give him a kiss, warm hands sliding up Rodney's damp, naked back.  The brush of John's stubble against his skin sent a little shiver of sensation straight to Rodney's cock   Rodney never could get over the way that John, so prickly in public, was so free with his touch in private.  Rodney's skin was like a parched desert to the life in John's hands; he couldn't get enough.  
   
There were times when Rodney didn't completely open his mouth to John's kisses.  Times when it was a simple hello or goodbye.  Times when John playfully bestowed a series of pecks on his lips, teasing brushes that left Rodney uncertain of what his response should be.  There were times first thing in the morning, when Rodney was sure that his breath must be terrible, when he held back, giving John a closed-mouthed kiss before rapidly shifting away.  
   
This wasn't one of those times.  Rodney opened his mouth as though he were drinking John in, breathing hard as he plastered himself up against John's body, welcoming the warm slide of John's tongue into his mouth.  John made a little noise, unusual for him, and clutched at Rodney's back.  Maybe they could skip the party altogether.  
   
John pulled back with a wicked grin.  "Come on, you don't want to be late."  
   
Rodney sighed before realizing there could be perks to delayed gratification.  Later, after an evening where he and John teased each other with surreptitious brushes against each other and scorching glances, when everyone had finally gone home, Rodney would have John to himself in the cabin.  It would be like those early days, when Rodney had retreated up there to lick his wounds and John had followed.  It hadn't taken him long to realize that what he'd thought was casual sex on John's part hadn't been casual at all as far as John was concerned. Tonight, Rodney could recreate that first night that John had shown up, that night in the hot tub...  
   
Damn, why had he thought delayed gratification would be fun?  
   
John opened the closet door.  "Here," he said, tossing a pinstriped shirt in Rodney's direction.  "Wear that.  It looks good on you."  He pulled out a royal blue sweater to go over it.   
   
Rodney pulled on the shirt, walking over to the dresser to fish out a pair of boxers.  Damn, he was going to have to do some laundry soon.  He picked up the pair of jeans he'd laid out earlier and brushed off Puffin's black and white hair with a frown.  
   
"I wish I could have gotten something special for you today," Rodney said, when he was finally ready and the two of them headed out the door for the holodeck.   
   
John tipped his head sideways to look at Rodney.  "I didn't get anything for you either, so don't worry about it."  
   
"You found a ZPM for me today; I'd say that's pretty hard to top as far as gifts go."  
   
"I didn't get you a ZPM."  John sounded amused.  "That was Elizabeth and _Fortune_."  
   
It still made Rodney uneasy sometimes when he thought of Elizabeth's personality being fused with the AI aboard _Fortune_ and how everything that had happened to Elizabeth was his fault.  He pushed those thoughts away.  "It was your bright idea to go shopping for a Christmas tree.  Best gift ever for me; ergo, regret at not finding a new kind of fighter plane or some cool weaponry.  I know!  A gun like Ronon's..."  
   
John's eyes lit up like a child's on Christmas Day.  He laughed and shook his head.  "You don't get it, do you?  The day we came back to Pegasus, I got all the gifts I could ever want or use."  He took Rodney by the hand, squeezing it briefly before letting it go.  
   
Rodney blinked.  He looked down at his hand and back up at John's face.  
   
"Who are you and what have you done with Colonel Sheppard?"  Rodney quipped, suddenly embarrassed  
   
"Don't let it get to you, McKay."  John was smooth and sardonic once more and Rodney was oddly relieved and disappointed at the same time.  
   
"Yeah. Well.  Likewise."  Rodney cleared his throat.  They continued walking down the corridor in silence.  
   
"Of course, if you're feeling particularly grateful..."  John's drawl was carefully casual.  
   
"Yes?"  Rodney prompted.  They were standing outside the back entrance to the holodeck now, the room that was designated as their bedroom.  Puffin was likely already there, lounging on the bed.   
   
   
"After everyone leaves, you could always fire up the hot tub."  John waggled his eyebrows in what he thought was a sexy manner, but it only made Rodney laugh.  
   
"Now that's what I call the gift that keeps on giving," Rodney said, placing his hand on the small of John's back as he followed John into the holodeck.  
   
~fin~  


  


  
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